The Uzumaki Heiress
by Shadowmaster1026
Summary: An AU where Sasuke knows Itachi was forced to wipe out their clan. And Naruto is a girl named Natsumi. Hopefully it's more interesting than it sounds here?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Obviously.

Chapter 1:

-Sasuke-

-Years Ago-

There was so much blood. One would think that it would be difficult to see in the darkness of night, but Sasuke was all too aware of the blood that covered the streets, the walls...everything.

It was the blood of his family. The blood of his clan.

Only he and one other remained. The man who had slain all of the others.

His brother, Itachi.

"Sasuke..." Itachi said, staring at his younger brother.

 _His eyes...they've changed. His Sharingan is different now._ Sasuke thought. That was all he really could do. He wanted to yell, to scream, to ask why Itachi had done this. The words didn't find their way to his lips.

Itachi approached him. His eyes never wandered, never glanced away from Sasuke's. They were mesmerizing. Despite himself, no matter how much he wanted to, Sasuke couldn't turn away either. It was like he was being held, his eyes forced open.

And then suddenly, everything was different. Gone were the blood stains, the corpses of all of his friends and family. Even the darkness of night had given way to the light of the early morning.

At last, Sasuke found himself able to turn away from his brother's gaze. He took in their surroundings. "How...how did this happen?" he asked aloud.

"A genjutsu." Itachi said, still approaching Sasuke. "A very powerful one. Tsukuyomi. One of the most powerful techniques an Uchiha can obtain."

"So, this is all..." Sasuke began.

"Imaginary, correct." Itachi said. "I wanted to explain, to give you the reason for what I've done this night."

"The reason..." Sasuke said. "What reason could you possibly...?"

"The clan was planning a revolt. They were going to wage a war amongst the Leaf Village." Itachi said. "It would have resulted in massive casualties for both sides, weakening the village as a whole. This...was the only way to allow the village to survive."

"But...but Mom and Dad..." Sasuke said.

"Were planning to participate in the revolt." Itachi said. "Some of the leaders of the village wanted the entire clan to be eliminated. THis was the only way for the clan to continue. For you and I to carry on the legacy."

Sasuke swallowed hard. This was...unbelievable.

"What I have done here tonight is...unthinkable. Unforgivable. But it was the only way to guarantee your safety." Itachi said. "Those who gave me the orders promised me that you would be kept safe. Of course, I don't fully trust them. That's why I'm telling you this, and trusting you to keep it quiet."

"Keep it quiet? But..." Sasuke began.

"Speaking of this will likely make you a target." Itachi said. "You need to survive, and help propagate change in the village."

"How can I do that?" Sasuke asked. "You...you should be able to do that, you're a genius."

Itachi smiled. "I'm not the only one." he said. "I believe in you, Sasuke. You can change the direction the village is going."

"But...no, I can't. Not alone." Sasuke said.

"You won't be alone." Itachi said. "There are others. Among them, the child of the Fourth Hokage."

"The...child of the Fourth?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi smiled again. "Right. It's a bit of a secret, but I've already filled you in on enough to make me an enemy of the village." he said. "The Fourth had a child, a daughter. She's been hidden from view, so that his enemies can't get to her before she's capable of defending herself. If she's anything like her father, she should be aligned to the same goal I am. The same goal I'm hoping you'll follow."

"But if she's hidden, what can I do?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi shook his head. "I'm sure you'll meet eventually." he said, as a form began to take shape behind him. The figure was a couple of inches shorter than Sasuke, and had it's back to him. The figure...it was definitely a girl, had her back to him. She had deep red hair falling to her shoulder blades. She turned toward him slightly, allowing him to see one of her eyes. It was a striking blue color.

"This is what I can show you of her." Itachi said. "It's been some time since I've seen her, but this should be more or less accurate."

Sasuke studied the girl. Or...what he could see of her. "Okay..." he said. "But, what do..."

Itachi shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry. We're out of time." Itachi said. "I wish we had more, but..."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"I need to go. There are...other things I need to take care of." Itachi said. "Remember, I believe in you." He then bent down and tapped Sasuke on the forehead with his index and middle fingers. As soon as the contact was made, Sasuke found himself back in the same bloodied street, surrounded by bodies, in the middle of the night.

Itachi was gone, with no indication of where he had gone. Sasuke sank to his knees. He could hear people approaching, probably Anbu coming to see what had happened.

Sasuke was just trying to process all of this. His clan was all but dead. Onle Itachi and himself remained. Itachi had been ordered to eliminate the others by someone in charge of the village. Sasuke didn't know who, though.

And Itachi wanted him to become strong. To become someone who could change the village and keep things like this from happening again? Itachi believed in him to do this?

Then he would. He would become as strong as he possibly could, and make everyone change. And he would find the Fourth's daughter, and she would help him.

-Present-

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts. He had been having more flashes from that night as his graduation from the academy approached. This was, after all, his first real step. He would officially be a ninja after today.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to graduate, of course." Naruto said.

"But...you failed the test." Sakura said.

"I took some extra credit." Naruto said.

"Guess there's a first time for everything." Sasuke said.

"What was that, jerk?" Naruto asked. Sasuke smirked a bit. Taking shots at Naruto was...cathartic. He was, for all intents and purposes, the opposite of what Sasuke strived to be. He was a failure, constantly slacking off, putting more effort into his pranks than his jutsu. Sasuke, on the other hand, had devoted himself to becoming as skilled as possible.

He had learned as many jutsu as he could, trained his body to be as strong as possible. Unfortunately, his Sharingan hadn't activated yet, but once it did, he would begin using it to increase his standing even more. None of his fellow new Genin would argue that he was anything other than the top of their class.

Sasuke looked up and met Naruto's gaze. He hesitated for a moment, seeing the other boy's piercing blue eyes. Every time he saw them, they served as another reminder of that night. The night his clan was slaughtered, and his brother fled the village with no indication of where he went.

Those eyes...somehow, the same as the girl Itachi had shown him in that illusory world.

Sasuke shook himself out of his thoughts. "You heard me, slacker." he said.

Naruto looked like he was going to begin yelling, but then stopped and shook his head. "Whatever, not worth my time." he said.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. That was...unusual. That wasn't how Naruto usually reacted to his taunting.

"Finally accepting your place at the bottom?" Sasuke asked. A few of the others in the room snickered.

"I earned my graduation." Naruto said, sounding oddly serious. "I don't need to prove anything to you here. I'll show you how good I am when I become Hokage. Believe it."

Sasuke shook his head as the other boy sat in his usual seat, and then turned to glance out the window again.

 _Well, if the clown wants to get serious, all the better for the village. Maybe he won't be completely useless when it comes time to change things around here._

-Naruto-

 _That jackass..._ Naruto thought. _He has no idea what I've been through._

Naruto knew that that was a pretty stupid thought. Of everyone in their class, Sasuke understood better than anyone. _Doesn't mean he needs to be a jerk_.

Losing your parents as a baby was bad enough. Having a demon fox sealed inside you, and a fair number of the adults in the village knowing it and hating you for it? That's something not many people could really understand.

The third had explained it some time ago. He had almost needed to. A few too many close calls when the Anbu guards almost couldn't stop things in time had warranted an explanation.

One would think that the villagers would be a little more thankful to the child who was acting as a vessel to keep a dangerous creature at bay. One would be wrong.

And, for all the power he had and respect people had for him, the Hokage's threats to leave the child alone wouldn't work on everyone.

That was part of the reason for the Hokage's other defensive measure.

Naruto barely noticed as Iruka walked in. He seemed to be doing well, despite the injury he had sustained the night before. He made a little speech and then started listing off the teams.

When it was finally Naruto's turn, he was...less than thrilled. Sasuke was skilled, but he was a jerk. And Sakura...she knew plenty from a text book perspective. Would she be good in the field? It was hard to tell.

The newly formed teams began departing, leaving Team 7 alone, waiting for their instructor. It took him about two hours to turn up.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Got a bit hung up." the man said. "My name is Kakashi. I'll meet you on the roof in one hour, so that we can do introductions properly."

"Why an hour?" Sasuke asked.

"I need time to prepare." Kakashi said.

"Two hours wasn't enough?" Sakura asked.

"I wasn't preparing, I was...busy." Kakashi said. "One hour, on the roof." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

All three Genin groaned. Sasuke was the first to leave. He silently stalked out of the room. Sakura seemed to be trying to gather her wits, so Naruto was the next one out. He said a quick goodbye to his new teammate, and then was out the door.

He headed away from the academy, toward his apartment. He noted a few stares being shot at him. It didn't matter. He was used to it.

He reached his apartment in about 10 minutes. That meant he had about 40 before he needed to head back to the Academy.

He closed and locked the door behind him. It had numerous locks to keep intruders out. It had only taken about 5 break ins for the extra security measures.

The bars on the windows made the place seem more prison like, but they also kept people out, so Naruto wasn't going to complain.

He pulled the shades and was left in relative darkness. He couldn't see out, and no one could see in. Just how he wanted it.

He made the hand signs to release the seal, and he...no, she was finally able to relax. The special seal that the Third had put on her was comprehensive, powerful, but took a lot of concentration and chakra to maintain.

Natsumi stretched, relishing the feeling of being in her natural state. She walked into the bathroom and stared into the mirror. Her blue eyes and the whisker marks on her cheeks were the only things that carried over between her two forms.

When transformed, her hair was blonde like her father's had been. In this form, it was red like her mother's, which went down to her shoulders. She was also about 4 inches shorter in this form than she was as Naruto.

She exited the bathroom and took off her thick orange jacket. A gift from the third. It was big enough that if the seal ever let go when she wasn't ready, it might be able to hide her true form...potentially. If everyone around was blind so they couldn't see her face and hair change.

She tossed the jacket onto her chair. She didn't have much time. It would take a little bit to cast the seal and transform again, so...

"Looks like it's ramen for lunch...again." she said to herself. When she was like this, she generally spoke aloud. It was nice to hear her real voice. "It's a good thing I like ramen." she said, going over to her cabinet to grab some.


	2. Chapter 2

Author Note: Going forth, the story will be told from Naruto/Natsumi's perspective.

Chapter 2:

I clenched my teeth as I looked around. This was an awful situation. And everything had been going so well up until this point...

Okay, so it hadn't been going perfectly. Kakashi had tested us on our first official day as a team, and we had essentially failed that test. Sure, it was to show us that we didn't really grasp teamwork yet, but...it still sucked to do poorly in our first team exercise.

After that, though? We were given a whole bunch of simple missions. Yard work, rescuing pets, so on... Nothing too difficult. It could barely be called ninja work at all. And, despite all of the differences in our little team, we had managed to find a pace that worked and stick to it. More or less.

Okay, we weren't a great team yet. Not really. But we did well enough to earn our first actual mission. Escorting some old bridge maker back to his home. He was a pretty big pain, and had a really bad attitude, but it was still our first taste of actual work. Plus, it wasn't going to be too difficult of a mission.

At least, that was how it was supposed to be. But, when we were attacked by two Mist Ninjas our first day out. Kakashi was...less than happy to learn that there were some pretty dangerous people after him. But, we had decided to press on.

Then we ran into Zabuza. He had gotten the drop on us, and even managed to trap Kakashi in his Water Prison. That left just Sasuke, Sakura, and myself to deal with him. To either fight him off or die trying.

And it was the first time we really seemed to click as a team. Sakura stayed with the bridge builder while Sasuke and I took the rogue ninja on. Even with most of my chakra going toward my seal, we actually managed to do well enough against him. A bit of deception and trickery had let us turn the table on Zabuza and force him to release Kakashi.

After that, a Mist Anbu appeared and finished Zabuza off. Or so we thought. We knew better now. Now that we found ourselves in a similar situation. Sakura was with the bridge builder, a last line of defense in case all else failed. After all, Sakura was smart, but she wasn't the heaviest hitter. She probably was probably in the bottom 20% as far as strength went. And that may be a generous estimate.

Kakashi was off facing Zabuza. Hopefully he was holding his own, now that Zabuza lacked the element of surprise. Knowing that Kakashi had a Sharingan helped reassure me. Speaking of...

I glanced over at Sasuke. His eyes had shifted, changing from their normal black to the red of the Sharingan. it had helped a bit, but there was only so much either of us could do. This ninja...Haku, was far more experienced than either of us. We were each pretty beaten up, and even ignoring how much of my chakra was being taken up by my seal, I was running low. Sasuke was likely in a similar state.

I looked back toward where Haku was, waiting in one of those damn mirrors. He was unmoving. He seemed more like a force of pure evil than an actual human opponent. How were we supposed to beat him. I dropped my eyes to the ground. It all just seemed so hopeless.

Then...it all went wrong. Well, it had already gone wrong. It was going worse, now. I heard the footsteps, and felt myself being pushed before I could even grasp the sound of footsteps. I hit the ground hard, and because of my surprise it took me a moment to get up.

When I did, I was greeted with the sight of Sasuke, full of the same damn needles that we had been getting assaulted with since the beginning of this fight. Way too many needles.

"Sasuke? You...why?" I asked. I knew I sounded stupid, but...

"I...don't know." Sasuke says. "My body just moved on it's own."

"You idiot..." I said. "You should have just worried about yourself."

Sasuke just grinned. That same damn grin that I had seen numerous times. The grin that showed that he thought he was better than me. Better than everyone.

I watched as Sasuke collapsed to the ground. I began to approach him, only to be stopped by the sound of Haku's voice.

"A shame. He seemed to care for the rest of you." he said. "I wouldn't have guessed from his words. But, I suppose, that goes to show that actions speak louder than words."

I turned toward the mirror that Haku was in and glared at it. I could see him pulling out more needles.

"Don't you dare speak about him. You have no right." I said.

"I suppose it's to be expected that you would be resentful. You clearly care for your teammates as well." Haku said.

"Shut up!" I said. "I don't want to hear you talk about him, or me, or any of us."

"Very well, then." Haku said. "Then I will save my words. I must hurry and assist Zabuza."

I could see Haku ready his needles, and then he was gone. Flying out of his mirror. I felt the needles strike before I could I even fully grasped that he had moved. Feeling this, I wondered how Sasuke managed to stand and speak for as long as he did. I fell to my knees as my vision faded.

 _Sakura...Kakashi... I'm sorry. I couldn't make a difference. Sasuke...I'm sorry that I wasted your sacrifice..._

...

And then it felt like I was laying in water. This was...interesting. Was this what the afterlife was?

I opened my eyes as I sat up. I was in a dark...room? Looking down, I saw I was no longer in my seal form. At least in death I wouldn't have to maintain that form.

I stood and began walking. I could hear a noise from a bit ahead of me, and decided to head toward it. After a few minutes, I saw what appeared to be a large cage.

I approached it cautiously, and could see the form of a giant, orange creature. It's eyes followed me, and it's tail...tails. All nine of it's tails waved, and...

Nine tails?

I could feel the blood drain from my face. Somehow. Did you still have blood when you were dead?

"Well, look who finally found her way here." the creature said.

I swallowed hard. "You...you're the...the Kyuubi?"

The creature snarled. "That is what you humans call me."

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I considered his words for a moment. Before I could respond, he spoke again.

"And now you've gone and entered a fight that you can't win. Can't you comprehend how troublesome that is for me?"

"Why would me dying affect you at all?" I asked. "Seems more like my problem."

"Quite the mouth on you." the Kyuubi said. "Your death means mine as well. This is the way of the connection between the tailed beasts and their Jinchuriki."

"Jinchuriki?" I asked. "What...what is that?"

"A human who has one of us, the tailed beasts, sealed within them." the fox said.

"Tailed beast...sealed within them?" I asked. I thought about it. The people in the village called me a monster, they hated me...called me a demon. "You...you're sealed inside me?"

"Very astute." the Kyuubi said.

"So...that's why the villagers call me a monster? And...are they right? I mean, if you're inside me..."

"Trapped within, as a prisoner." the Kyuubi said. "We are separate entities. You are no more a monster than my previous jailers were. No more a monster than your mother was."

"My...my mother?" I asked. "She was like me, a...Jinchuriki?"

"She was. I was freed from her, and then sealed into you." the fox said.

"I...I see." I said. "At least I get to learn something about her before I die."

""Foolish child..." the Kyuubi said. "Weren't you listening? Your death means my own. I don't intend to die."

"So...you're going to help?" I asked. "Can...can you do that?"

"I can do many things." the Kyuubi said. "Healing you is of no consequence, if it means my continued existence."

"Th...thank you." I said.

The fox hesitated before speaking again. "You...are thanking me?"

"Of course." I said. "You're willing to keep me alive. Even if it is as a means for your own survival. Then I guess I'll just need to find a way to beat Haku..."

"Yes..." the fox said, after another pause. "I suppose you will. And, you may want to do some research into Jinchuriki, when you have the opportunity."

"Yes, I will..." I said. "Oh...and you said that we humans are the only ones that call you Kyuubi. Do you...have a name?"

The fox paused again. "Perhaps I will tell you when next we meet."

"Okay then. Thank you again." I said. "I won't forget this."

The fox turned away from me as the scene faded.

...

And then I was on the ground again. The pain from the needles was lessened. I pushed myself back to my feet and lifted my hands in front of my face.

I was glowing. A red aura surrounded me. That...was new.

I could see Haku moving toward Sakura and the bridge builder. I had apparently not been out for too long. I was feeling better, almost normal. I also wasn't feeling as tired as I had before.

I started to run toward Haku, and felt myself moving faster than normal. A side effect of the Fox's healing? Or maybe he was doing something else...making me stronger?

It didn't matter. I reached Haku in about two seconds. I decided against quipping or anything and just punched him with all my strength.

Now, I was no taijutsu expert. While Sakura was likely in the lower 20% in terms of strength, I would be lucky to be somewhere in the lower 40%.

You wouldn't have guessed by seeing me hit Haku. He went flying further than I ever would have guessed, right past Sakura and the bridge builder. Both of them looked as shocked as I would expect them to look.

"Wha...who?" Sakura said.

"I got him..." I said. I glanced over to where Kakashi and Zabuza were fighting. Kakashi was using some technique I had never seen before, gathering chakra on one of his hands. Zabuza was being held in place by...a pack of dogs?

As Kakashi began to move, I barely saw Haku spring into action out of the corner of my eye. He moved with a speed that rivaled what I must have just done to place himself in the way of Kakashi's attack.

Haku was impaled, and I doubted he would survive. I started to approach the scene, intending to help Kakashi. After a few steps, my knees buckled and I fell back to the ground. I looked down at my hands and could see that the glow had faded. I could feel the exhaustion that I had felt previously returning, and my vision starting to fade.

The last thing I heard as I blacked out was the bridge maker. "Who is that?"

-Later-

I awoke in a bed. That was preferable to the ground I had passed out on. I sat up in the bed and looked around. I recognized this place. The bridge maker's house.

I could hear voices from the living room. I stood up and decided to join the others.

I moved to the door and opened it, and was shocked at what I saw.

Kakashi, Sakura, and the bridge maker were there. That wasn't surprising. I mean, I guess it was slightly. They had all survived, so I figured Kakashi managed to finish off Zabuza.

The surprise was Sasuke sitting at the table. He looked as bad as I felt, but he was alive.

"Sasuke...you made it?" I asked.

"He did." Kakashi said. "But, I think there are other things we need to discuss, Natsumi."

"Okay, like wha..." I started, then stopped. I looked down, and saw what should have been obvious some time ago. My seal had worn off.

"Oh..." I said. "Um, okay..."

This was going to be awkward.


End file.
